Watching well-trained horses in action can be like seeing poetry in motion. And there will be a lot of action this weekend as the Arkansas State Championship Horse Show takes over Barton Coliseum. This is the show's 56th year and, according to organizers, it just gets bigger and better.
The show comprises 12 associations across Arkansas, associations which hold Saturday night competitions all summer in preparation for the state championships, a weekend of 41 events that public relations director Neal Kring says has been, at times, "the largest open-breed horse show in the country."
Arkansas State Championship Horse Show
8 a.m.-10 p.m. Friday-Sunday, 8 a.m.-afternoon Monday, Barton Coliseum, State Fairgrounds, 2600 Howard St., Little Rock
Admission: $10 per day, children under 5 free
(870) 761-0885
That means it's open to all types of horses, not one particular breed registry. And they'll do it all: race around poles, complete complicated patterns of movement, do some ranch-style running.
"We make up a really, really, really large show," Kring says.
And it's grown every year. What started as a one-day event now takes up four full days, starting at 8 a.m. and running until late at night for three of those days.
They keep adding different competitions and classes, like the more recent ranch horse classes, which Kring says have become very popular. They've also included more youth classes to get young people more involved.
There are multiple divisions for the different age groups and different types of events, from timed speed events like barrel racing to more sedate judged events like reining.
The speed events, Kring says, tend to be the biggest crowd-pleasers, especially for horse show novices.
"The speed classes, everybody is wrapped up in the rush of that. Everyone's cheering."
On the judged events, everything's more nuanced. While newcomers may not pick up on all the minutiae of the event, Kring says, "It's so amazing to see the event in general that it's impressive."
Regardless, they've been careful with their scheduling to provide a good mix of events and to stagger the different types of competitions throughout the weekend.
"We don't just run all of one class for five hours," Kring says. "We've got them mixed up. If you're not impressed with the class you're watching, maybe you'll like the next one better."
And it's not just the horse show. There will be a large number of vendors and food trucks set up around the coliseum. People can also wander around and visit the trailers to get a closer look at the talented horses and their people.
Net proceeds from the show go to Arkansas Children's Hospital. Kring explains that, in the past, they had corporate sponsorships that helped bump up their contributions but that revenue source has changed over the years and now they rely even more on the community to help them support ACH.
"You can come out and watch an event or two, stroll around, see the horses. You can walk down where the horses are and you can interact. It's a lot of entertainment for $10."
Weekend on 08/29/2019